


Search and Rescue

by ironemrys



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, DRLAMP - Freeform, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Gore, Mind Palace, Sleep and Remus make a nightmare, Swearing, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse, i guess, sleep is not a side he's just there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:09:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26471662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironemrys/pseuds/ironemrys
Summary: A Zombie AU. Deal with it.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders & Thomas Sanders, Creativity | Roman Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Thomas Sanders & Sleep | Remy Sanders
Kudos: 5
Collections: Sides Shenanigans





	1. Spider-napped

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah. I made this before Thomas made that post about The Last of Us 2 and I wasn't going to post it but then I got excited and so my plans changed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton worries for Virgil when the anxious side is nowhere to be found right after Thomas and his friends play a new action horror adventure game.

"Roman?" Patton knocks in the creative side's room. 

Roman raises his head from his table and turns around to the door and then at the clock. He gets up from his seat and walks towards the door to open it, revealing the moral side standing there and looking worried.

"Hey, padre. What's up? It's late." Roman asks. 

Both of them were already in their sleepwear and it was well past midnight. 

"is everything alright?" Roman asked again.

It was pretty unusual for Patton to be awake at this hour since he and Logan usually follow a certain sleep schedule to the dot. Roman, on the other hand, is wide awake and busy since it's usually at midnight and onwards when creativity starts working.

"I was just… I dunno… I feel kinda, scared?" Patton admits as he walks inside the creative side's room. Patton sits by Roman's bed as the prince leans on his table. 

"What's up? What's wrong? Have you talked to Virgil about it?" Roman wonders. Since Patton was feeling scared, it would only make sense that he'd go to Virgil to check up on the guy or maybe ask for advice.

"Yeah, but that's… that's the thing… I went to his room to check if he was doing okay after today's episode but…" Patton looked around the room and clenched his hands in his pajamas.

"He wasn't there, Ro. I thought he'd be here with you, you know? As a distraction. And now that I can see that he's not… well… And we know how Virgil is when he's… on edge. I'm worried. But more scared." Patton replied and Roman sighed. 

"Did you check in Logan's room?" He asked and the moral side nodded. 

"Logan was already asleep so I didn't think he'd be there. I thought about… crossing but… I kinda don't want to go alone? I mean, I know we've come to terms with Janus and your brother but… "

"You think Virgil crossed the border?" Roman asked.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time, I mean even when we weren't all that close he used to cross all the time." Patton replied and Roman gave it a thought. 

"Yeah, I guess you're right." 

"I'm just really worried. The episode stressed him out. I could see it. I could feel it. " 

Roman was quiet. Sure he'd noticed that Virgil was on edge throughout the entire episode but when was he not? He's Anxiety for crying out loud. 

But then again, Thomas' new episode may have been too much. 

It all started when Joan suggested they play a new game for their series Joystick Joyride. Everyone was talking about the new game and Thomas was interested in it though he didn't want to play it alone. 

So like always, he invited Joan and Talyn to play with him while Camden recorded. The game was The Last of Us 2. They played for about eight hours and every single turn of Thomas playing made Virgil cower. He hated the game. It was intense, it was scary, it was scarring. He didn't want to play anymore but every red flag he raised seemed to be thrown out the window. 

The group played until Talyn got sleepy and they all decided to continue shooting the next day. 

Once the filming ended, Virgil darted to his room and no one has heard from him since. 

No wonder Patton was worried.

"Well, do you want to cross over and see if Virgil is there? I'm sure he's fine but if you really want to check… we can." Roman said. It was pretty obvious that the moral side was restless, it could be his sensitivity to Virgil's feelings but then again, Patton is the center of all the feelings.

"Yeah. I just want to make sure." Patton chuckled and Roman nodded before the both of them sunk out of his room. 

They rose up again at what once was a borderline between the light and dark sides. It was torn down the moment they've all reconciled but it was still considered as an entrance to another area. Particularly because it housed Remus' kingdom, his side of the imagination. Whereas in the light side, it mostly housed Roman's. 

"Should be right around here… " Roman said as he tried to remember where Remus' room was. He and Patton crossed the border and walked to a dimly lit corridor when one of the doors opened to reveal a very sleepy snake. 

"Roman? What are you… I sensed someone crossed the border. What are you doing here? It's one in the morning." Janus asked as he rubbed his human eye. 

"We're kinda looking for Virgil. Daddy-o here can't sleep unless we make sure he's okay." Roman replied and pointed to Patton. 

"Oh right the video today. Well, I did sense Virgil here earlier. He could be in Remus' bedroom." Janus says and Roman nods before letting the deceitful side go back in his own room to sleep. 

Roman and Patton passed by Sleep's room before they got to Remus'. Now Sleep is not a side but he's just… well, there. He's usually in the dark side corner because he, and Roman quotes: likes the aesthetic. 

"Remus? You awake?" Roman knocks on his twins' door. He could just barge in since that's what they both usually do to each other, but it was already one in the morning, he didn't want to be rude. 

"Maybe he's not here?" Patton asked as he looked around. The last door was the door to the imagination, maybe Virgil was there? But why would he go there and not to Roman's side of the imagination? Or maybe he was in Sleep's room? 

"Well if he's not here and not in our place, where could he b-" Roman got cut off when the door to Remus' room opened. 

However, there was no one inside. 

Roman and Patton took a curious step into the room. Something wasn't right. The entire place was dark except for the one light shining on the bed. The bed was devoid of any side that could be sleeping but there was a note. The paper looked old and it was covered in what Roman would like to assume is fake blood. 

"What is this?" Roman asked and picked up the note and as he read it, his eyes went wide.

"OH THOSE IDIOTS. THEY DIDN'T. " Roman said. 

"What? What did it say?" Patton grabbed the note and read it carefully. 

_HEY DORKS!_

_We knew you'd come looking for this dark and brooding emo after what happened today. He did pass this way and we may or may not have dragged him into this game me and Sleep decided to do._

_If you want to see Vee Vee again, come to my side of the imagination. Me and Sleep are preparing a good ol nightmare for Thomas! Vee-lociraptor on the other hand was at the wrong place at the right time._

_Anyway, we have him in the nightmare so make an effort and try to rescue him before he gets killed, okay bro? (P.S. we're not gonna kill him, Remus was joking but we did make the nightmare -REM Sleep)_

Roman watched as all the color from Patton's face was drained.


	2. Step into the Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Step into Remus and Remy's masterpiece.

"What did they mean they have Virgil? Will he be okay? Remus won't hurt him, right? What do we do?" Patton asked as Roman paced the room.

"No, of course they won't hurt him," Roman replied with a pause, "At least I don't think so." 

"What did they mean Virgil was at the wrong place at the right time?" Patton asked as he reread the note. 

"Well I think, maybe, Virgil went to Sleep so he could, well, sleep… because I'm guessing he had trouble doing so after everything that's happened today. But then Remus and Remy might have been in the middle of making a nightmare for Thomas so they just dragged Virgil along with them." Roman answered and Patton's eyes went wide. 

"A nightmare?!" 

"Yes pop. Where do you think Thomas' dreams come from? They're all from Sleep, Virgil and me and Remus' powers. If it's a dream about Disney Princes and exciting adventures then it came from my ideas being generated by Sleep. If it's a nightmare then it's from either Remus or Virgil." 

"Are Remy and Remus going to make a nightmare based on the game Thomas was playing earlier? That can't be good." Patton said, worried.

"Probably. Remember the last horror game Thomas played? And he couldn't sleep for a week because of the nightmares? Remus did that. Virgil, I think he's unconsciously doing it, maybe due to his reaction to Remus but I don't know, I don't really understand the process. All I know is, if my brother and Sleep are creating a nightmare right now then we're in for a long night." Roman concluded when a floating head of Remus showed up. 

Patton screamed in alarm and hid behind Roman who only sighed since he was used to his twin's antics. 

"What's up buttercup? We're almost done with the nightmare! Are you guys gonna play? Well, not like you have a choice." Remus asked with a toothy grin.

"What did you do now, Remus?" Roman asked when a severed head of Sleep appeared as well. 

"Sleep! Remus! You killed him?!" Patton asked but Remus laughed and so did Sleep's head. 

"Chill out, papa bear. I'm fine." Sleep said. 

"What are you two up to?" Patton asked in a scolding manner. 

"Well the video today was so much fun! That gore and death? I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this!" Remus cackled. 

"That wasn't fun at all. Thomas cried when that man died." Patton remembered.

"Eh whatever pop pop! I enjoyed it! And Vee, well Vee was being a pain in the ass, always wanting Thomas to stop." Remus grumbled and Roman rolled his eyes.

"He's Thomas' fight or flight. And besides, you know he hates those gore and scary things. He can tolerate some but not a lot." Roman replied 

"Yeah yeah whatever. Anyway, we have him. He's trapped here unless Sleepy boy and I let him go but we all know that's no fun! So if you want to save him then step into the nightmare." Remus said. 

"Remus, it's one in the morning, can't you just let Virgil go?" Patton asked. 

"Nuh uh! Where's the fun in that? Besides, I'm downplaying a little bit here poppy seed so give me a little credit." Remus replied and Roman and Patton looked at each other. 

"What do you mean?" Roman asks. 

"Think of this as a compromise. We did do the nightmare, but if you act as a hero and rescue Virgil, then Thomas won't have that bad a nightmare in the end. Everybody wins. Remus gets to wreak havoc, I get to do my job and you get to be the hero." Sleep answered and so the other two gave it thought.

It would be nice if the nightmare ended in a good way, right? 

"So, you in or out?" Sleep asked after a few seconds of silence. 

"Remember though, if you don't come and rescue Virgil, who knows what'll happen while Thomas is asleep and his anxiety is trapped in a nightmare." Remus chuckles and Patton visibly shudders. 

"Alright, alright we're in. But only because we need Virgil to be safe." Roman replied and the severed heads bounced up and down. 

"EXCELLENT! I knew you wouldn't chicken out! We'll be waiting for you at the end of the game! Bye!" Remus laughed evilly at them before disappearing with Remy. 

"Should we call Logan to help? Or Janus?" Patton then asked a few seconds later. 

"No. Logan would just be furious since we're all awake and trying to meddle with Sleep and Remus. Janus would probably kill us first before he asks why we bothered him." Roman concludes when a door with the sign "Remus and Remy's nightmare #671" appeared in front of them. 

"Guess it's just us." He adds and sucks in a breath before opening the door. 

There was a sudden blinding light that made Roman shut his eyes and when he opened them back up again, he noticed that he was all alone in a dark hallway. 

"Patton?" Roman called but there was no response. 

"Crap. Daddy-o! Where are you?!" Roman yelled again when he heard groaning and scurrying from the far side of the hallway. 

"Surprise Motherfucker!" Remus' severed head appeared again. 

"WHAT THE HECK REMUS WHERE'S PATTON?!" Roman shouted when the loud groans got closer. 

"Oop. You better not alert those runners Roro. You don't even have your weapon yet." Remus chuckled. 

"Runners? You mean those ugly zombies from the game earlier?" Roman asked 

"Of course Dr. Seuss, this entire nightmare is based on that." Remus grinned.

"where's Patton?" the light twin asked as he ducked behind what looked like a couch.

"He's with Sleep. Remy didn't want the good daddy to be scarred for life so we're adding him as a level to the game." Remus answered

"Level? What level?" Roman wondered when his eyes landed on a baseball bat by the side. It was shining a little bit brighter than the rest of the room so he grabs it and turns again to his brother. 

"Level of the game. Come on you dumb fuck, keep up." Remus rolled his eyes and Roman swung the bat at him but it just went through like an apparition. 

"Now listen. This nightmare is going to play out like the game. We're a little nice so there's only two levels. Level one, save Patton. Level two, save Virgil. If you finish all levels then the nightmare ends in a good way, if you die, then… well… good luck to Thomas." Remus chuckled. 

"what?! are you insane?!" Roman yelled. 

"yes. I'm offended you would ask." Remus replied and Roman sighed. 

"Don't worry. This is just like the game. You gather supplies and weapons. The only downside here is we removed your powers so you're like... human right now, no summoning and shape-shifting. But that's the fun of it! Anyway, may your death be swift!" Remus cheered and then disappeared. 

Roman heard the clicks and groaning from the zombies just like they were in the game getting closer and he grumbled under his breath. 

"Great."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's part two!


	3. Roman Vs. The Runners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman gives himself a pep talk and Remy is there to help (sort of).

"Okay." Roman breathed out and held on the bat he found. 

"I can do this. Yeah. I can do this. It's just like in the game." He added and peaked out of the couch he was hiding from. 

"Though how similar did those idiots make it to the game? I can't summon my sword since they took away my powers. Damn it. I'll make do."

After Remus (or Remus' head) disappeared, Roman had managed to gather some of his wits. 

First he realized that he was no longer in his sleepwear. He was, in fact, wearing something that a highschool student would wear: red varsity jacket, a white shirt and some dark jeans matching the dark converse on his feet. 

Now Roman counted his objectives: first was to find and save Patton and then together, they have to rescue Virgil. 

The princely side also noticed that he has a backpack on, just like what that girl Ellie had in the game. He figured it's where he can store his weapons and supplies. 

Speaking of weapons, he has only one. A bat. And a bat might not be the best weapon to keep in a zombie apocalypse. Roman's confidence for the start of the nightmare game had dropped down. 

Roman wasn't scared when Thomas was playing the game. He was a little tense, sure, but he liked the action and the adventure.

This time, however, he wasn't all that sure if he can pull this nightmare hero thing off. 

"Gah. What are you thinking Roman? You need to save Patton. And Virgil and of course Thomas. You're the hero. You always have been. You can do this." Roman said and sucked in a breath before proceeding. 

"Okay. If I remember, I can see… or was it hear? I don't know…" Roman continued to talk to himself as he tried to make sense of the nightmare. 

"I can maybe see? Where the zombies are? I mean…" Roman looked closely at the dark hallway he was in, he can hear the zombies from far away but he can't really see them yet. Besides, in the game, the main characters don't actually see the zombies while they're hidden but they can hear them. 

"What if I…" Roman then said and pressed his ear on the couch he was hiding behind. 

Suddenly, various white and illuminated shapes from afar showed up in his line of vision. 

"There it is." Roman grinned. He could see where the zombies were now and there were at least six of them in different sides of the hallway. 

"Okay, I don't have a knife yet but I guess I can strangle them to death since they did do that in the game." He said and walked stealthily out of the couch and towards one zombie. 

The zombie groaned and chittered in its spot and as Roman got closer, his heartbeat started to pound faster. The creature remained still but the noises it made was unsettling. 

Roman creeped behind it and grabbed it by the neck. He immediately broke the zombie's neck and he laid it down gently on the floor. 

"Ugh. That's disgusting." he mumbled and pressed his ear to the nearby wall again in order to see where the others were. 

He crouched and crawled to a nearby room where two of the zombies were in. Thankfully, they were facing opposite directions. 

Roman crept up to the one nearest him and did the same strangulation technique.

_**CRASH!** _

"Shit!" Roman didn't anticipate that the other zombie would turn around and spot him. 

"Ah crap." 

Now the other remaining zombies heard them. 

Roman dodged as the other zombie tried to grab him, he swung his bat and hit the zombie on its chest. The creature stumbled back so he took it as an advantage and swung again at its head. 

The zombie finally dropped dead but Roman could hear the others getting closer. 

"Oh boy… Oh boy… oh boy… " 

The prince readied himself and when the first zombie appeared by the door, he immediately swung his bat at it. 

It took three swings to the body to get the zombie to go down and he dodged as another came at him. 

"Holy Hera!" Roman yelled as the remaining zombies tried to corner him. He barely dodged out of the way as two of them came at him and he swung his bat at one then another. 

Both zombies stumbled but a few more came running straight for him. 

"What the hell?! I could swear there were less of you when I first looked!" He yelled when one tried to grab him by the backpack. 

"JESUS!" Roman looked around and saw something shining on the floor. 

A bottle. 

"Of course." He remembered that sometimes he can pick up bottles and bricks in order to throw them at the zombies.

He grabbed the bottle and threw it at the runner who stumbled back. Roman swung his bat at one of the earlier zombies and managed to successfully knock it down. He swung again at the other before he hit the last one in the head and both zombies finally dropped. 

"Damn." He breathed out in relief. Roman looked at the mess of corpses around him as he tried to catch his breath. 

He then realized that the bat he now had was broken. 

"Great." He grumbled and remembered that melee weapons don't really last long in the game as well. He dropped the bat and began to look around the room he was in for supplies. 

"Remus, I swear to Hercules, if I do survive this, I will kill you." 

A soft laugh made Roman turn around in alarm but he sighed and dropped his guard when he recognized Sleep. 

"Not bad for your first nightmare adventure, wonder boy." Sleep said. This time, he wasn't a floating head, but Roman knew he wasn't really there since he looked like another apparition. 

"I don't just carry around that sword for show, you know?" Roman grinned. 

"Sure." Sleep replied before adjusting his sunglasses. 

"Uh… you know it's a little dark in here, don't you Remy?" Roman asked with a raised brow. 

"Yeah I know," Sleep shrugged, "I wear them anyway because I'm stylish like that." 

"Anyway, I'm here to relay a couple of things." Sleep started and walked over to Roman and with a flick of his wrist, a map appeared in front of the other's face. 

"So you can navigate properly. And also, those heart and storm cloud stickers is where you'll find the babies." He snickered and Roman rolled his eyes before taking the map and placing it in his jacket pocket.

"Also, we didn't include any upgraded health and shit like that. You can upgrade your weapons as long as you have materials for them and I think you can already tell which materials can be taken." Sleep said and Roman nodded. 

"Well, that's about it. See yah on the other side, biatch." Sleep waved and then disappeared. 

Roman then took out the map and began to read. 

"Alright now where am I and where am I going?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are appreciated.


	4. ESCAPE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman weaves through the nightmare. But this is only the beginning.

Roman studied the map. Well, it wasn't an actual map. It was just a sketch of boxes with labels on them. A red x with a crown on top marked where he was, that and the fact that the x had a "you are here, moron" written right next to it. 

"Okay so I'm here, Patton is in a hospital?" Roman asked the air. Hey, he was all alone, who else was he gonna ask? 

Anyway, Roman looked at the map. The place where he was was labeled Hotel California. Then there were other boxes around it which he figured could be just random places he can scour. 

The heart sticker where Patton is, according to Sleep, was on a box entitled Children's Hospital.

Roman snorted, it was probably Remus' idea to name the places in this map. 

Roman brought his attention to the mess of green scribbles on the map right before the hospital. It was labeled Fangorn Forest. 

"Is he just gonna throw every piece of fandom we all know in here?" He asks once he sees that the sticker for Virgil was on a box that Roman assumed was a school since it was labeled Hogwarts. 

There were scribbles in blue ink right before the school and it was labeled The Water Tribe Except Nobody Lives Here. 

"so, a forest to get to Patton and a river or whatever to get to Virgil." Roman concluded as he hid the map in his pocket once again. 

"Okay. There must be some stuff lying around here since I'm in a hotel right? I need a new weapon." He mumbled and began to walk out of the room. 

He tried to be as quiet as possible. Without a weapon, he won't stand a chance against the zombies. He could outrun them but he also had no flashlight and the place was pitch black. The only comfort he has is the ability to see/hear the creatures once he presses his ear against a wall. 

Roman stepped into an empty room. The place smelled of rotten flesh and there were a few corpses on the ground. 

"You better not jump on me." He mumbled as he turned a corner to look closely at the body. To his relief, the body had no head. He breathed out and started to ransack the closets and drawers. 

Every shining object was his for the taking and every dull object was just a prop. 

Roman managed to gather cloths and bottles and to his luck, he found a lighter. He continued to go through every room he could enter in order to find supplies and in the last room of the dark hallway he finally managed to find a flashlight. 

"Thank Zeus." He said and opened the flashlight only to be startled by a corpse of a police officer. 

He gasped and covered his mouth to stop himself from yelling and that's where he saw it. A pistol. 

It was on the police officer's hand and it was shining which means that he could take it. Now Roman doesn't know how to use a gun, well, he does, but he never trained in it that much unlike with his samurai sword. 

"Oh whatever." He thought to himself as he made a move to grab the pistol. 

He didn't think to check however if the body was really dead since the moment he touched the pistol, the dead sprang back to life and lunged at him. 

"SHIT!" 

The zombie jumped on Roman and attacked him. It tried to claw its dirty rotten fingers on his face and its mouth opened and closed nonstop in an attempt to bite the living shit out of him. 

"GET! OFF!" Roman gathered his strength and threw the zombie off of him and through the glass window. The window shattered and the zombie fell outside. 

Roman breathed in relief but his satisfaction didn't last long when he heard the chittering of more zombies from the halls. 

"Now what?" He said, exasperated. He grabbed the pistol that fell from the zombie's hand and realized it was only half a magazine full. 

"I'm so dead." He said to himself but then remembered a certain skill that the characters in the game possessed. 

Roman looked out the broken window. He didn't have much choice, he can't fight those zombies with only his fists and a half full gun. 

Or maybe he could? In the game, some of them could punch away the zombies. Though that would just tire him out. So even if he could, he won't. 

Wasting no time, Roman climbed out the small gap by the window and prayed to any god and goddess that he would not fall. 

Step by step he carefully but quickly crept on the side of the walls. He saw the zombies rush in the room where he was but thank goodness that they didn't see him escaping. 

He reached an empty balcony and he hoisted himself up before collapsing on the floor. 

"Ugh. This is a nightmare." Roman mumbled 

"Oh wait… "

The prince rolled his eyes. He was beginning to lose his mind. He shook his head and peered through the closed glass doors of the balcony he was in. He tried to slide the door open but it wouldn't budge. He tried to break it with his gun and elbow but it didn't do anything.

"Guess I'm not going that way." He said to himself and looked at his options. 

He couldn't see the forest where he was supposed to pass through in order to get to the hospital where Patton was, instead, there were tall buildings surrounding the place. 

"maybe the forest is past those buildings? Or maybe they're on the other side of this hotel?" Roman said aloud and tried his best to see past the buildings but to no avail. 

If the situation wasn't so dire, Roman would've stopped and admired the work his twin had done. It was cinematic, for a nightmare. 

Roman looked down. He needed to find the forest. But he of course knew that Remus and Sleep wouldn't make the nightmare so easy. 

Case and point, there were no stairs leading down. The fire escape was broken, save from the ones that were leading up. 

"Fine." Roman said and he tightened the straps on his backpack before using the ladder on the side to continue his journey up. 

He climbed at least five floors up before the stairs were broken again. This time, when Roman slid the balcony doors, they finally opened and he entered the abandoned room. 

He looked around for supplies and found upgrades and ammo. He reloaded the gun he was holding and on a bedside table he found another bat lying around. 

As soon as he finished looking through the room, Roman stopped and listened for anything unnatural. And of course, there was.

"Really?" Roman asked when he heard clicks nearing him. He hid behind the door when the advanced zombie, or clicker, as they would call in the game because they differ from the normal zombies, stepped inside the room. 

The clicker stumbled in and turned around but it didn't make a move against Roman. This is when he remembered that these monsters were blind as hell. 

He just needed to be quiet in order to escape. He can shoot them, true, but then the other clickers would come barreling down on him and he didn't want that.

Silently, he tiptoed out from behind the door. The floor creaked and the clicker moved in alarm. Roman held his breath for a few seconds and the clicker was back to just standing still. 

If the clicker could hear his heartbeat then he'd be long dead by now. 

Roman took a careful step back out of the room, his eyes fixed on the clicker. His peripheral vision caught sight of an opening that would lead to some stairs. 

The other clickers were around but if he was quiet enough, he can maybe escape. 

However, as soon as Roman turned around towards the hallway

**_CRASH!_ **

His bat that was hanging on his backpack, knocked over a maid's cart. 

“SON OF A-” The sound of Runners from across the hall echoed and Roman heard the clicker screech.

"Son of Poseidon!" Roman yelled. It was too late to be quiet now. The clicker immediately charged at him. 

"Mother of!" Roman ducked the attempted grab and ran out the room. He heard the other clickers that noticed his presence and he sped off.

He made a beeline for the stairs when a clicker fell down in front of him making him jump. 

"Holy Hera!" On instinct he drew out his gun and shot fire to the clicker who fell back. 

"Run. Run. Run. Run. Just run." He said to himself as more clickers and now even the normal runners came for him. 

He went up and up the stairs and he cursed when said stairs ended. 

"Are you kidding me?" He yelled and looked up. The door to the rooftop was opened but a part of the stairs had already collapsed so he couldn't get up. 

He can't jump up either since it was too high.

"Ok. Ok. Where do I go? Where do I go?" He looked around frantically when the clickers that were following him appeared in the corner of his eye.

"Oh give me a break!" He yelled and fashioned a Molotov using the supplies he found. He threw two bottles at the creatures and they screeched.

"Freaking sounded like a Nazgul or something." Roman mumbled but then proceeded to think of a way to get to the top.

Something shining then caught his eyes and he looked to his left to see the hose from the emergency fire extinguisher just lying about. 

"Are you serious?" He asked. Although he knew that that was a mechanic in the game so he had already accepted what he needed to do. 

Roman took a few steps back and once he gained momentum, he jumped and grabbed hold of the hose. 

The other zombies that were still trying to get to him jumped after him but they fell in the process.

"Thank god." Roman breathed out in relief when he felt the hose slowly give out on his weight so Roman climbed hurriedly and when he finally reached the edge of the final floor, he hoisted himself up before breathing heavily. 

"I swear, I will kill those two once this is over." He mumbled. 

Finally managing to catch his breath, Roman got up and headed to the rooftop.

As soon as Roman stepped out into the open space, he was blinded by the sun. He covered his eyes and walked to the edge before taking out his map. 

"And there's the forest." He mumbled as he eyed the mess of tall trees just a few miles from where he was. 

The forest looked beautiful. If only there were no possibilities of impending doom in there, then Roman would have loved to explore the place. 

Maybe some other time, when there's a little less death and tension. 

"Okay so how do I get down?" Roman asked himself as he looked around the rooftop. He managed to gather supplies and medicine kits. Although he didn't think he'd need them since he was doing okay, he took them anyway. 

Better safe than sorry. 

Still exploring the other side of the rooftop, Roman saw that the fire escape was intact on one end so once he managed to gather his wits, the prince started his climb down. 

Not far from the ground, Roman could see the resemblance of the nightmare to the game. 

"Well, I must say, good job Remus." He silently commented when he heard something familiar. He quickly dropped to the ground and rounded a few of the burnt out cars and trucks that were all over the place.

"Now this is something I'm fine with." Roman said with a grin as he walked closer to the brown horse. 

"I'm guessing my brother left you here?" He asked when the horse turned to him and steadied itself. 

Roman was good with animals, he's a prince, a Disney prince, for crying out loud. 

He mounted the horse with no trouble and headed straight to the forest. 

"Hang on Daddy-o, I'm coming."


	5. The Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman enters the forest and maybe things are starting to get a bit lighter... maybe.

Roman reached the forest entrance in record time. He stopped by a few buildings and shops to salvage what he could and he managed to upgrade his pistol so he could have better aim. He also upgraded the bat and placed spikes and nails onto it to induce more damage. 

"Well, we're here, Max." Roman said to his horse. Of course he would insert a Disney reference to his companion. Heck, Remus scattered references everywhere in this nightmare so he figured he might as well.

"I wonder what horrors those two made in this section. I mean, in the game, there were a lot of zombies here and there but who knows?" He continued as he urged the horse forward. 

Suddenly the atmosphere changed. Literally. First it was sunny but as soon as he entered the forest it became extremely snowy. 

"Okay, what?" Roman asked out loud when he noticed that his clothes changed as well. He was now wearing a red winter coat and some black combat boots and a golden bonnet. 

"What? Why is it suddenly like this?" Roman thought but then it occurred to him that anything can happen in the nightmare. 

"Well I guess there's no logic applied in this at all." He mumbled and continued on. 

It was a little bit difficult to see through the blizzard and even with the clothing he had on, Roman was shivering violently. 

"Oh god, this damn snow." Roman mumbled, "As someone who has zero experience in snow, I always thought I would find my first experience of it to be exciting." 

Roman trudged the horse bravely, he could barely see through the ongoing blizzard but he had no choice. 

Entering a large clearing in the forest, the snow surprisingly started to yield, Roman can slowly make out the trees and the plants that were shining white. 

"Wow Remus, I don't know if you can hear me, but good job, brother." He said to the air. 

The horse continued to go in the direction Roman was leading it to when it stopped midway. 

"Max? What's wrong, boy?" Roman asked and the horse neighed and moved its head towards a low rise of land. 

"You sense something?" The prince asked again and started to lead his horse towards wherever it wanted to go. The horse halted once again when they heard distant sounds of the runners.

"Uh oh." Roman said when something glistening caught his eye. He tried to move the horse towards it but it wouldn't move so he sighed and got down himself. 

"Wait here, okay?" He said to the horse and moved towards the shiny object. He was a couple of steps away when it dawned upon him that the said object was a hunter rifle. 

"Sweet." He grinned and grabbed the gun when a hand shot out of the snow and snatched his arm. 

"By the children of Zeus!" Roman yelled in alarm and withdrew his hand, the force made him fall on his back and the surprise runner growled as it towered above him. 

"CRAP!" Roman aimed at the runner and shot fire from the rifle. The creature flew back and the sound echoed throughout the forest. 

Sounds of runners and clickers suddenly became clear. 

"And that's my cue to leave." Roman got up and ran back to his horse, only… the horse wasn't there anymore. 

"Max?!" He called, "Max! Where are you?!" to no avail. 

Roman heard the monsters getting closer so he ran. It was harder to run in snow. His legs felt heavy and he was sure -

_THUMP_

He fell. The runners suddenly appeared from all sides and Roman scrambled to his feet to get away. 

"Shitshitshitshitshitshit." 

When a runner or clicker gets close, he would shoot them but he was down to his last bullet and he was nowhere near the exit of the cursed forest. 

"Ah hell." He shot fire for the last time and drew out his pistol when clickers and runners started to pour in from different directions. He wasted ten bullets on the monsters but they kept on coming. 

"How many monsters did you make in this nightmare, Remus?!" He yelled when he was tackled to the ground. 

"SON OF A!" Roman used his bat to block the runner on top of him, he fumbled in the snow to reach for his pistol when he heard the galloping of hooves. 

A shot rang through the air and the runner on top of him fell limp. 

"Get up, Roman." He heard a familiar voice and when his eyesight adjusted, he looked up at the side on his horse. 

"LOGAN?!" The logical side frowned at the prince who was still down on the ground.

"Logan?! Why are you here?!" Roman then wondered out loud. 

Logan adjusted his glasses, "You summoned me here." He replied and turned to shoot at the runners still coming after them. 

"Come on." He then said and reached his hand out to grab Roman. Roman took his hand and was surprised when Logan hoisted him up with no trouble.

Logan kicked the horse and they proceeded to escape. Roman was a better rider than any other side besides Remus but Logan surprisingly can hold his own. He maneuvered the horse here and there in order to avoid the oncoming onslaught of zombies. 

Once they were in the clear, Logan slowed the horse down. 

"So..." He started, "Care to tell me why you summoned me here? And why are you even here? This is Sleep’s territory, and with a hint of your brother, judging by the zombies." 

"I swear I didn't summon you. Remus and Sleep took away my powers when I entered the nightmare." Roman replied. 

"You mean you got in here voluntarily? Roman, I thought I told you-"

"Nonono. Well, yes. But hear me out." Roman started as he explained the whole situation with Logan. 

"And that's where I'm going." the prince finished his explanation and Logan sighed in exhaustion. 

"I think that you trying to figure out how to escape these situations accidentally summoned me here. I mean, right now, Thomas' thought process is thinking about logical ways to escape the nightmare. It's not the first time this has happened." Logan says.

"Wait so you've been dragged in Remus and Remy's nightmares often?" Roman asked and Logan nodded. 

"Not always but yes, often. Especially horrific nightmares such as this." He replied before adjusting his tie since he was wearing his usual garments unlike Roman who was dressed to fit the aesthetic of the game.

"Well, I'm glad you're here, teach. I could use the help and the company." Roman admitted when they finally reached the end of the forest. 

As soon as they got out, their clothes changed, including Logan’s and the atmosphere was now cloudy and gloomy. They crossed a bridge and halfway through, the horse stopped. 

"There's the hospital." Logan said and pointed ahead. 

"Yeah but how are we gonna get there? There's ruins and everything." Roman asked as he eyed the destruction laid before them. 

There were overturned cars and trucks. Bridges were near to collapsing and there was tall grass everywhere. The cars and trucks were blocking their way and the two sides got down from the horse in an attempt to move the vehicles away.

"Won't budge." Roman huffed and looked over the edge of the bridge. 

"Over here." Logan called him back and climbed on top of an old minivan. 

"We can use the cars and trucks to get to the other side." He explained as Roman jogged back and caught up with him. 

Logan and Roman proceeded to climb and jump in between the roofs of the cars when they heard ominous music come from out of nowhere. 

"What's up with that?" Roman asked as he dropped to the ground right next to Logan who suddenly pulled him to hide behind a truck. 

"There's people there." Logan whispered as he peered through the side. 

Indeed, right before the actual hospital there were armed men and women loitering about. Logan could see the tall grass where they could hide in, much like in the game and there were chained clickers that were being guarded by the other rogues.

"Hmn. We'd need a proper vantage point if we want to properly see where we're headed. Patton could be anywhere in that building and by the looks of it, there's too many of them out here." Logan said as he and Roman crouched low behind the cars to avoid being seen. 

"I'll release the clickers. That'll set them loose on some of them at least. Try and find molotovs. It's better to have them as backup." Logan instructed and pulled a sniper gun out of thin air.

"Hey home come you have your powers?" Roman asked. 

"I'm Logic, Roman. I told you before I'm not entirely affected by Remus and Remy's shenanigans. I may be limited in a way since this is their realm but I can manage. Besides, this is like what? The six hundredth nightmare I've been in?" Logan smirked and Roman huffed in response. 

"Let's meet back here in ten minutes. Don't go too far while looking for supplies." Logan added before moving away to a different direction.

Logan saw a taller truck and he climbed it easily before laying down on his stomach. He took out the sniper gun and aimed at the clickers in chains. 

He counted first how many of the rogues were actually there before he aimed at the chain and shot fire, breaking its hold on the clicker. Logan watched as the rogues were alarmed by its sudden release. He did it again to two more chained clickers and he couldn't help the proud look on his face as his plan was set in motion.

Logan got down from the truck when he heard the charge of a gun and he raised his hands on instinct.

"Found you, you little fucker." A rogue said with his shotgun aimed at Logan. The rogue reached for his walkie talkie when someone touched his shoulder so he turned around. 

"Sup?" Roman grabbed the shotgun and yanked it away from the rogue before swinging it towards the rogue's head, knocking him unconscious.

"Good job." Logan said.

"Found some medical supplies and a lot of bricks and bottles. Can't carry them all though." Roman replied when the walkie talkie piped up. 

"Brent? Brent! Shit. Something's not right." the voice said and Logan and Roman looked at each other before looking for a place to hide.

"Under the truck, go." Logan said and urged Roman to crawl. The prince moved with haste and Logan soon followed. Two figures walked up to where they had left the body and the rogues cursed. 

"Shit! He's dead! There's someone here!" One of them yelled. 

"Split up! Find them!" the other replied and they both went into separate directions. Logan motioned for Roman to be quiet, he gently moved out of his hiding spot before shuffling quickly to another car and hiding underneath it. 

Roman then sees one of the rogues on his right while the other is on Logan's left. 

He turned to Logan who nodded in understanding.

"Together." He muttered as he made a move to exit the car he was hiding in. Roman acknowledged and he moved out as well before creeping behind his rogue and subduing him, rendering him unconscious. Logan easily knocked out his rogue as well and him and Roman met in the middle. 

"We need to move." Logan said.

Him and Roman stealthily walked towards the hospital while hiding in the tall grass. They could see the mess of carcass from the rogues that were attacked by clickers. With a few of them remaining, Roman and Logan decided to act fast. 

Logan conjured a bottle out of nowhere before throwing it towards a certain direction away from the both of them. Two of the rogues walked away while two of them followed the noise. Logan then took out his sniper gun and shot the rogues point blank before him and Roman ran inside the hospital doors.

“How did you aim so good, teach?” Roman then asked as they both looked around for supplies he could use since he was the only one without his ‘powers’.

“I’m not entirely blind, Roman. These glasses that Patton and I have are merely for… for lack of a better word, fashion. I actually have a 2020 vision.” Logan replied.

“No one has a 2020 vision.” Roman mumbled, doing finger guns at the logical side who rolled his eyes. Suddenly, they heard loud growling noises that can neither be from a runner or a clicker.

Roman turned to Logan, the grip on his weapon tightening, “What was that?” 

“I’m assuming it’s a bloater.” The latter replied and produced a shotgun out of nowhere.

“Okay now you’re just OP.” Roman complained and Logan found himself rolling his eyes once again.

The intellectual side started to load up his weapon before he turned to Roman, “Just craft a bomb or something so we can get this over with.” 

“Can’t we just escape the dream? I mean, now that you’re here. Thomas may realize it’s a dream while… when he’s sleeping and then he’ll jolt awake.” Roman replied and waved his hand.

“It doesn’t work like that. I may have my abilities as a side but this is Remus and Remy’s realm. They hold more power here than I do. And right now, Thomas is so into the dream- nightmare, that he can’t wake himself up. He needs to see it through.” Logan answered when the loud growling sounded a little more closer towards the two of them.

“So, explosives?” Logan asked and Roman handed over two he had crafted earlier.

“What’s our strategy here, Vision?” The prince whispered and used the hearing ability to try and see where the bloater was coming from.

“I’m thinking live bait.” Logan said simply and Roman paled a little,

“Please tell me you’re thinking of using yourself as live bait?”

“Of course not.” Logan replied, “I have the better aim so I can throw the explosives straight at it. Right now you have game mechanics imprinted on you via Thomas’ thought process and based on the session earlier with Joan and Talyn, we can conclude that Thomas can’t throw to save a life. So based on these facts, you’re the better bait. And besides,” He continued with a cheeky grin,

“You’re the faster runner.” 

With that said, Logan materialized a bottle out of nowhere and threw it closer to their direction successfully drawing the attention of the bloater.

“You didn’t-” Roman started with wide eyes.

“Run, Roman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look, an update.


End file.
